Podcast Highlight: Judith Orloff
This week I am joined by Dr. Judith Orloff, Best-Selling Author of "Thriving as an Empath: A Daily Guide to Empower Sensitive People." Dr. Orloff comes to the show to discuss her extensive work to normalize being an empath.
An empath is defined as someone who is highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around them.
Empath is a word that gets thrown around a lot and a lot of people claim to be empaths.
Dr. Orloff is the real deal. She has written extensively on being an empath, the challenges you face, the hardship of the gift, and grace it gives you to show compassion in the face of a world that can be harsh at times.
In Dr. Orloff talks about on the spectrum of empathy where in the middle you have ordinary people who can exude common empathy—for instance you can feel for a person and you heart goes out to a person.
At the top of the spectrum is a sensitive person who is sensitive to noise, sound, light, smells, and sensitive to sensory stimuli. Above the sensitive sits the empath and they have all the traits of an emotionally empathetic person, but they are also an “emotional sponge.” These people can absorb both positive and negative energy of the world, and all the suffering in it. Empaths have a porous energetic body.
For these people in particular, Dr. Orloff discusses the importance of creating a self-protection and self-care technique to mitigate energy absorption.
In our interview, Dr. Orloff gives her top 5 techniques for protecting yourself if you are an empath:
Setting good boundaries, and learning how to say no.
Breathe out stress and toxic energy that has been absorbed.
Generate heart-energy.
Learn how to shield yourself, energetically.
Listen to your still small voice (your intuition), do not ignore it.
Many of us who present as sensitive or empaths, can live in systems that do not understand us nor know how to support us. Dr. Orloff’s works are a roadmap for self-acceptance and self-understanding.
